1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the treatment of small seeds and is more particularly directed to a method for handling small seeds for planting, coated seeds, and the coating composition employed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the modern practice of agriculture, it is economically essential that the manual labor requirements for planting, cultivating, and harvesting a crop be kept to a minimum. Present methods for growing celery are costly. Celery seed is very small and is therefore difficult to handle and to plant with any degree of precision. There are approximately 70,000 seeds to the ounce. The seeds are approximately 1.0 .times. 1.8 millimeters in size with longitudinal ribs pointed on each extremity. The celery seeds are planted in seed beds and the resulting seedlings permitted to develop for approximately 12 weeks. Two to three ounces of celery seed are planted in open seed beds, having dimensions of about 4 ft. wide .times. 300 ft. long. This seeding produces a plant population of about 120,000 plants, there being a large variation in the size of the individual plants due to the varying germination rates. The seed bed mentioned can generally supply plants to cover one to two acres, as approximately 40,000 plants are required to plant an acre with the celery planted 6 to 8 inches apart in rows spaced about 24 inches. The seedlings are then transplanted to the field where, in about 90 days, they reach maturity.
As will be appreciated, the various handling steps to and from the seedbed are a costly and somewhat difficult operation which require a substantial amount of manual labor. Hence, there exists a need to reduce the labor content by mechanization of the handling and the transplanting phase of celery production.
It should also be mentioned that attempts have been made to directly plant celery seed in the field without going through a transplanting operation. However, this technique has not always been successful.